The ability to add value and be compensated for it is critical to being able to fund the next big thing (or the next in a series of incremental little things). And after all, if you are not making money on the value you add, why do it?

Accelerometers for AirbagsA family of high-g acceleration sensors able to detect rapid deceleration of vehicles during a crash has been developed by STMicroelectronics (www.st.com). These "AISI DS" peripheral-sensor accelerometers provide single-axis, in-plane motion sensing from ±20 to ±400 g.

Reusing is eASEE It’s not uncommon to near the end of a software development cycle and lack the breadcrumbs to return to the original design, especially in the current environment of vehicle consolidation. Vector CANtech wants to make that process “eASEE.” Its new eASEE PLM software serves as a massive repository, but one that relationally links the data to map systems from legacy to contemporary software architectures. “It allows developers to share and reuse the data, but more importantly, to trace it once they’ve begun development,” says Mark Jensen, eASEE product line manager.